Oblivious and Socially Screwed
by Genjutsu91
Summary: What begins as simple negotiations for peace turn into something more chaotic and problematic, placing a tired and confused blond in the middle of a homicidal red-head and fiery tempered brunette.. And that's when things are easy... YAOI, slight AU
1. Welcome to Hell

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing here except the slight plot. Naruto and all Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto.  
**Rating**: PG-13 thus far, but I intend to go into _very_ mature scenes as the story progresses so always pay attention to ratings.  
**Pairing**: NaruSasuGaara (Yes. I can count.)

**Summary**: What begins as simple negotiations for peace turn into something more chaotic and problematic, placing a tired and confused blond in the middle of a homicidal red-head and fiery tempered brunette.. And that's when things are easy... YAOI, slight AU

**A/N**: I'm an avid role player trying my hand at fanfic writing. Honest opinions please. Also, I know most fanfictions have longer chapters so I'm sorry for the short chapters in this fic.

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He was in utter hell. Somewhere between chasing his dream, thriving to be noticed, protecting his friends and village, and studying under a perverted sage, the skill of patience had been overlooked. Sure, he knew how to file papers in the correct order, speak intelligently and passionately, get people to sway to his opinion, and how to put the lives of others above his own, but when it came to meetings that lasted more than just one hour... Well, the wooden chairs and stuffy atmosphere were just to much on his nerves. He couldn't sit still for anything, and he was having trouble hanging onto the drawling man's words. Did the guy have to act like he was teaching history or something? Gah!

Despite the urge to jump up and down while screaming at the formal, old men currently negotiating the best trade agreement between the hidden villages, he sat still and straight. Maybe a bit stiff and agitated, but everyone else was stiff and looked irritated so he found that he blended in nicely. Perhaps too nicely, though. When had he gotten so boring?

"But if we give them that much power over the majority of the trade routes, we'll be handing them the reins to our economy. There needs to be another way to work around this that they will agree to. Otherwise, we're better off how we are," one of the three men retorted, stroking the small beard he sported while leaning back with the aura of a genius. His statement was met with silence and contemplative thought.

Naruto, though, was starting to feel more like an audience than the one they were trying to convince. They appeared more interested in swaying the other's opinions than what he thought, but then again, they probably really didn't care what he thought. The older generation of the village still held that sharp edge of resentment towards him for being what he was. While he berated them for their stupidity, he couldn't hold a grudge against them. After Iruka had told him the sad tale of what had happened the night of his birth, he understood why people were once nervous around him.

Yes, were. He'd won over most of the hearts of Konoha while winning the minds of others. The percentage of those that didn't see what the others saw had somehow come to respect him, though. And they had every reason to. Only three months into his new rank, and ties were being made between all of the hidden villages (with the help of Suna). Times were returning to a more lulled peace, though, he still kept his men on guard at all times. He wouldn't allow the village to be caught off-guard the way Sarutobi had, not that he ever blamed the old man. No and never. The old man believed in those peaceful times and sadly that meant that security was dropped a degree during a festive occasion. How was the Third to know that something so pure could become so tainted?

But even if this generation respected him, they couldn't let go of old habits. Those old habits included pretending that he wasn't even in the room, like he didn't exist. Now that stung, especially as they began speaking to each other once more, still not even sparing him a glance. But like before, he resigned himself to sit annoyingly still and listen to everything that they had to say. He needed to choose the best and safest way to establish trade routes, after all. The village depended on him with decisions such as these.

Of course, he hadn't thought of how long it would take to figure it out. They'd sat down nearly three hours ago, and his back, neck, butt, legs, toes, and even his fingers were starting to protest. Well, his fingers probably wouldn't hurt if he hadn't been drumming on his thigh the first two hours straight. One of them looked like it wanted to turn from an aggravated red to a stunning purple.. Yeah, there was probably a bruise on his thigh, too. Sometimes he forgot what sort of power lay even in a shinobi's finger.

The old men's argument was starting to go from not agreeing to heated and volatile as the seconds ticked into more minutes. The one that seemed to think himself sharper than the other two had his palms flat against the table while he sat forward. He looked as though he would spring forth like a rattlesnake at any second. Things were beginning to get out of hand so he cleared his throat purposefully. When no one acknowledged him, he did it again, but yet again, nothing.

"Your Hokage wishes for you to stop your childish squabble and pay attention," came a low timbre of a voice, promising nothing good to whomever chose to ignore him the way that they had done to the blond man.

Three heads looked to the ANBU Captain standing a little behind and to the Hokage's right. The porcelain mask hid the pale face and piercing eyes that lay beneath, but they all knew who had spoken. They knew who dwelled behind the painted fangs and whiskers of a feline, and then they focused on Naruto as if he had personally offended them.

On the inside, Naruto wasn't sure whether to laugh at how much Sasuke had not changed or to growl and snarl and rant that they obeyed the bastard quicker than they did him. On the outside, though, he simply offered a bright smile and chose not to speak of Sasuke's coldness.

"This meeting has lasted a little over three hours, and no one seems to be able to agree with anyone else. You will go home and review all of the suggested plans, think over what the outcome could be while taking into account the village's current circumstances. I'll call you all back in three days, and an agreement will be met. That is all. You're dismissed." His voice had evened out and lowered into a husky timbre since he'd grown, and though he had never lost the spark that always shone in his eyes, he had come to find that not everyone could be pleased so he no longer tried, not like he once did.

The only reply he got was that of narrowed eyes and nearly hidden scowls. No one said anything to him, though, as they stood swiftly and exited the large conference room.

As the door slipped shut behind the third man, Naruto sagged into the uncomfortable and hellish chair with a heavy sigh. The folds of clothe along the edge of his hat fell forward to create a protective curtain from the only pair of prying eyes left in the room. If the other could see his face, he would see the exhaustion that pulled at his eyes, leaving bags and dark spots, as well as a grim frown as he mentally turned over everything that had been said throughout the meeting. Personally, none of their plans made much sense to him, but he was still just getting the hang of politics so...

"Dope, you're sitting like a bum."

Crystalline eyes narrowed into slits as he twisted his neck in the direction of the masked man. Instead of the usual retort, he stuck his tongue out. There didn't appear to be any reaction from the other man, but Naruto knew that if he could see Sasuke's face at that moment, he would get a clear view as thin and pale lips was pressed into a tight line and obsidian eyes were rolled. That would be Sasuke's typical way of saying that he thought you were an idiot that was obviously beneath him.

They stayed like that for awhile. Naruto stared at the painted mask and wondered what was going through Sasuke's usually morbid mind, not for the first time. Sasuke, meanwhile, felt like an experiment being poked and prodded with the way the blond was observing him. It had his blood running cold as the hairs stood straight on the back of his neck.

"What?" he snarled after counting out ten minutes. Still, the blond hadn't looked away. He hadn't even really blinked but maybe twice.

"I was just thinking if I should make you go through an anger management class," Naruto said with a boyish smile, crinkling his blue eyes with the gesture as he watched Sasuke's hands ball into fists. It was always just so easy to get the brunette riled up.

Just as Sasuke was preparing to either reply to the moronic statement or knock the Hokage unconscious, the door that the three men had left through earlier was ruthlessly pushed open by a teenage boy who had a wild look in his eyes. Instead of doing whatever he'd intended to do, he remained perfectly still and pretended that neither the blond man nor the brown-haired boy were even there.

"Hey, Konohamaru!" Naruto said with ease as he raised his right hand to wave at the flustered boy. "What's got you so out of breath, huh? Chased out of the bath-house, again?" The question was punctuated with an amused laugh.

Smiling at Naruto's question, Konohamaru sucked in a large breath as he shook his head in the negative way. "No, Boss. I've been too busy training with Lee-sensei," as the boy choked out the words, both of the men in the room winced in sympathy. Rock Lee had grown to be five times worse than Gai-sensei had ever been. His squad normally crawled home since their legs no longer functioned properly. Of course, their missions always went off without a hitch so no one ever said anything about it. "Lee-sensei actually sent me to let you know that the Kazekage and his party have arrived and are on their way here," he finished, not noticing their reaction to hearing Lee's name.

There was a visible tightening in Sasuke's muscles, but Naruto ignored it. Sasuke and Gaara had never gotten along so he was used to the tension between the two of them by now.

"Really? Wow.. They got here two days earlier than originally thought!" he said in awe as he leaned back, propping his chair up on the back two legs. "Thanks, Konohamaru! You can go back to your training or whatever now," Naruto with a sincere show of gratitude.

Rolling his brown eyes, Konohamaru turned to leave the room, though, he stopped just as he was opening the door. "You'd better enjoy that chair for now because someday it's still going to be mine," he said while flashing a quick grin before vanishing out of the open door, letting it fall shut behind him.

"The chair? He can have the damned chair. Uncomfortable waste of a tree," Naruto muttered under his breath as he began squirming in said object, trying to find a comfy spot. Nope, nothing was comfy on this thing.

"He was referring to being Hokage you dobe," Sasuke hissed as he watched the display, wondering how Naruto had managed to become Hokage in the first place. It was probably just one of the mysteries of life... No answer.

Sticking his bottom lip out in an obvious pout, Naruto was once again sticking his pink tongue out at Sasuke. It probably wasn't a very good idea since a second later Sasuke was holding the muscle between his forefinger and thumb, a kunai pressing into the palate.

For the sake of not getting his tongue cut to resemble a serpent's, Naruto didn't pull back or move except for the frantic waving of his arms as his eyes widened in shock and surprise. Since when do you threaten a guy's tongue? If he lost his tongue, how would he taste the perfect flavour of ramen?! Surely Sasuke wouldn't take that away from him, right?.. But it was Sasuke, the sadistic prick who'd spent the majority of his life trying to kill his older brother... Naruto's arms haulted for a brief second before waving faster, trying to convey how much he liked his tongue and wanted to keep it for the sake of delicious ramen.

Whether his message was heard or not, though, it wouldn't matter. The metallic taste of the kunai vanished along with Sasuke as a swirling mass of sand whipped in front of Naruto, close enough to tickle his nose but not enough to so much as scratch him. Gaara was getting really, really good with his sand control, even without Shukaku's power aiding him.

On the other side of the room, Sasuke reappeared, the kunai still drawn as he assumed a lazy position, stating that he thought himself stronger than the Kazekage without saying a single word. From the lowering of non-existing brows, though, Naruto knew that Gaara had understood Sasuke' body language.

"Haha. Hey, Gaara! Why did you come so early?" Naruto said quickly before more sand went crashing around the room accompanied by giant fireballs. He did want an office after this was all over, after all. "And wow! I didn't know you'd gotten that good with your sand!" he added just to be sure he'd taken the red-head's attention off of Sasuke for the moment.

"The new trading system is a joint effort by both of our villages. It seems like we should be working together on the planning," Gaara said simply, slowly turning aquatic eyes from Sasuke and to Naruto. "I train," he added after a moment of thought.

"Really? That's awesome because after today I was really starting to worry about how to handle all of this," Naruto confessed with a tired exhale of breath. "And oh.. I guess that should have been obvious, huh?" As he scratched at the back of his neck in a sheepish gesture, he could hear the sound of a kunai being placed back in its pouch. Well, at least Sasuke wasn't planning on attacking anyone.. Yet.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence after that. Gaara didn't seem to wish to reply to anything that Naruto had said, watching him with that calculating and unblinking stare of his. Sasuke stood quietly and still, acting the part of an ANBU bodyguard, even if he was still a bit stiff and ready to spring at any moment. Naruto simply lowered his hand from behind his head and looked from one to the other.. He just couldn't understand why they hated each other so much? They had never shone any interest in each other for a very long time, but about six months back, hostility had become very apparent.

Naruto often wondered what could have happened to create the cold tension, but there were never any clues. Gaara had come to redo the treaty between Konoha and Suna, forcing him into several meetings with Tsunade and the village Council for three entire days. Naruto, himself, hadn't even seen much of Gaara in that time. Only once when he'd managed to delay Gaara from one of the meetings by inviting him to an early lunch that lasted about two hours. Gaara had acted normal...

And when it came to Sasuke, Naruto hadn't seen much of him, either, but that wasn't anything new. Ever since killing Itachi and finally returning, Sasuke had tried to keep his distance from Team 7, though, Naruto wasn't called Konoha's 'Number One Knuckle-headed Ninja' for nothing! He'd seen Sasuke twice within that time, one sparring session and breakfast at the eerily silent Uchiha compound which ended in another sparring session/fight. Sasuke had acted normal, too...

When it became obvious that he was going to have to break the silence, Naruto could only heave a sigh as he stood. Continuing to ignore the steadily stiffening muscles of his best friend, Naruto approached the one person who had shared his childhood and extended his hand with a wide grin. "Welcome to Konoha, Kazekage-sama! I hope that we can work through this trial of the human race and show that we are all alike and can get along! This is the spring time of our youth, after all!"

"Tch," was the only sound that came from Sasuke while Gaara simply gave Naruto a look that should have been given to the village idiot.. Well, Naruto did qualify.

"You've spent too much time around Rock Lee," Gaara finally replied, quirking a brow as he crossed his arms against his chest.

Figuring that his hand wasn't going to be shook, Naruto lowered it back to his side, grinning like the cheshire cat. "Yeah, well.. That's all Sakura's fault! Ever since those two started going out, he's been following her around like some sort of attention seeking dog," Naruto said in his defence. "I know you came here to talk business and all that fun stuff, but I'm already beat. How about we just go to Ichiraku's and grab some ramen? Well, what do you say, Gaara?" Turning his head enough to see the black and white of Sasuke's uniform, he added. "Well, Sasuke? Wanna go with?"

Just as he'd managed to rid the room of most tension, it returned ten fold. Gaara's face fell into the usual mask, though, he did nod. Sasuke's body had started to relax a small amount, but now it seemed like the ANBU would shatter should someone poke him. It took him a moment longer than Gaara, but Naruto watched as the porcelain mask dipped in agreement. What had he said? Were they allergic to ramen all of a-- No way! No one's allergic to ramen! But...

Naruto accepted their answers, even if their current conditions had him losing his appetite towards ramen. "Alright!" he stated quickly, forcing a smile. "Well, Sasuke we'll wait for you in the lobby since I'm sure you don't want people gawking at your ANBU uniform." His voice was muffled as he tugged his robes up and over his head, tossing them behind him and onto the table. The robes were followed by his hat.

As he smoothed out the wrinkles in his black and orange T-shirt, he felt the pop of chakra that meant Sasuke was gone. Just as he'd thought, Gaara's face softened as much as it ever did as he seemed to relax now that the third man was gone. Well, that meant that it wasn't the ramen or himself that had them so nervous acting. It was each other.

"Well, let's go on to the lobby!" Naruto said louder than was necessary, grabbing one of Gaara's crossed arms and pulling him out of the conference room. Gaara didn't resist the action, simply followed at Naruto's side with a pinched expression. Naruto knew that his friend was still trying to get used to being touched by other people so he didn't worry over the expression. Gaara would always relax eventually because it was Naruto's hand on his arm. He knew that Naruto never wished harm on anyone, especially those that he called precious.

They descended down the stairs quickly, Naruto practically dragging Gaara as he began talking about a new recipe that was just introduced at his favourite ramen stand. "You've really got to try it, Gaara!" Naruto said at the end of the speech which was also when they found themselves in the lobby of the Hokage's Tower. "It's really out of this world! Not my absolute favourite flavour, but it's real close!"

Gaara listened silently, always amused by Naruto's good nature and ability to make anything and everything seem amazing in its own way. The blond had a talent for bringing the best out of people. There was no disputing that, but the blond was also too caring and curious sometimes.

"So.. What's up with you and Sasuke lately? I mean.. I know you two were never actually friends, but over the months, you both act like you want the other dead or something. What's going on?" Naruto asked out of the blue, trading his boyish charms and quick smiles for a calm voice and steady eyes.

"Nothing," Gaara said after admiring the quick change in Naruto. The blond boy had grown into an intelligent man.

Naruto's eyes narrowed skeptically as he watched Gaara intently. "I'm not blind, Gaara. You just tried to harm him earlier in that meeting room so don't deny it. I believe I have the right to know the problem between the Kazekage and one of my ANBU Captains."

So he was going to play the political card? Gaara didn't have any issues with that road. "Hokage-san," he began in a low voice. "You should know how well I get along with most people so you should already know the answer. And with new treaties coming forth soon, I would think we should try to trust one another."

"You know that I trust you, Gaara. That's not it," Naruto sighed, dropping the formal tone and names. "I know you aren't good with most people, but you were never this hostile towards Sasuke before, and he was never like that with you... It's just got me worried."

Gaara watched as Naruto lowered his head in what seemed to be thought as his face became closed off and even distant. It wasn't a look that Gaara liked seeing on the normally happy face, but he wasn't good at soothing so he just stood still and let Naruto work through whatever it was he was thinking over.

"What's wrong?"

He'd gotten used to the silence and his own thoughts to the point where Naruto jumped at the sudden question. Seeing Sasuke's annoyed expression as he crossed his arms, Naruto laughed softly.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!" Naruto protested as he pointed at the now smirking Sasuke. "Whatever, bastard. Let's get going before the place gets packed during the lunch hour!" Naruto said before Sasuke could even think of gloating about surprising the Hokage.

On the short walk to the ramen stand, all three men were silent. Gaara and Sasuke were always quiet so that wasn't anything new, but, of course, both of their chakras seemed ready to snap at any second which only helped fuel Naruto's own thoughts. First, he thought of how much they had or hadn't changed. Gaara wasn't as exiled as he once was. Sasuke was friendlier than he had once been, though, he would always be a cold prick. Naruto... Well, he didn't think he'd changed all that much.

Sasuke's clothing was still mostly black or khaki or navy while Gaara's was still brown or black or maroon. Naruto, though, didn't wear only orange anymore. He owned gray, black, blue, red, white, and green shirts and pants now, but he did seem to wear the orange ones more often than not.

"You shouldn't think so much. You look like your hurting," Sasuke commented from his left, not even looking at the blond as he spoke about how he looked.

"Bastard. Are you ever going to stop insulting my smartness?" he snapped without thinking, too used to the exchange.

"Smartness? I don't think I'm insulting anything since there's nothing there to insult," Sasuke responded, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the aggravated blond. There was a clear smirk across his lips.

"Hey! I'm Hokage, you bastard!" Naruto half-yelled, drawing attention to the trio. "They wouldn't make an idiot Hokage!"

At this comment, Sasuke gave Naruto a serious look. "You would think that and yet..." he drawled, letting his eyes rake up and down the blonde's body. "They did."

On the other side of Naruto, Gaara said nothing as he listened to the comments and names being tossed back and forth carelessly. Neither the Uchiha nor Naruto seemed to be really taking anything to heart. It was their way of bonding, a game really. To see who could put the other down the worse. True, it was an odd game or way to bond, but Gaara had watched this transaction since the Chuunin Exams nearly a decade back. Well... Some of those years, Naruto and Sasuke weren't near each other considering the brunette's betrayal.

"Hey, Naruto! I was wondering where you were at?" called the aging man from behind a counter, looking out at the street where the three had stopped. He smiled pleasantly as the shinobi bowed beneath the curtain and took up three stools. "Busy day, kid?"

"You wouldn't believe it!" Naruto said in an exasperated tone, seemingly forgetting the earlier banter with Sasuke. "Three bowls of that new stuff please!" he chimed happily, his eyes lighting up like a six year old's at Christmas.

The man smiled warmly before turning to ready the order. As he did so, Naruto didn't notice the smirk from his left and hint of a smile to his right.

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Please leave a review letting me know whatever. Criticism is welcomed; encouragement is loved, and honesty is wanted. Thank you for reading the first chapter to Oblivious and Socially Screwed.


	2. Demon's Laughter

**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.  
**Rating**: PG-13

**A/N**: I would like to thank everyone who has added my story or myself to their alerts as well as reviewed. Also, there was only a glimpse of the plot in the first chapter. You can see more of it in this chapter.. Sort of. If you squint. I would also like you to know that I have no limits on anything that I write so please keep that in mind while reading this fic. Getting a relationship started between them is only the tip of the ice berg, so to speak. You may see things later on that you may not agree with, but I have warned you.

**Note**- This story probably won't have much gore, though... Still thinking on that one. The plot is also under-developed at the moment. It's my first true fic. so I'm just toying with it mainly. Hopefully, it will be good enough to read, though.

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"Naruto, are you alright? You look as if someone told you that ramen no longer existed?" The blond sat in his office with his face firmly planted on top of the stack of unsigned papers. While the papers stuck to the left side of his face, his eyes were dulled as he watched a bird fly in front of his window every few minutes. "Naruto..?"

"You shouldn't joke about ramen like that, Sakura," he sighed as he pushed himself off of the desk so that he could see the medic-ninja better. Looking back at him were teal eyes filled to the brim with concern.

People always said he cared too much, but that just meant that they didn't know Sakura very well. Sure, she'd knock the hell out of you if you bothered her or if she thought you were being too stupid for your own good, but she would also mourn the passing of an enemy simply because they were a living creature that had gone down a road that no one wishes to go. She would hold a crying child who had simply scraped their knee, worry ruthlessly when one of her friends was late coming home from a mission, and she always made time to check in on her pretend little brother.. To Naruto's dismay, that normally intelled making him eat normal food instead of his beloved ramen. She was getting as bad as Iruka with that one!

"Naruto, please tell me your upset about something because if you've finally eaten yourself into the grave with that horrid noodle junk, I swear..." With the threat came a raised fist, warning him of what would happen if he'd trailed off of the diet she'd put him on.. again.

Waving his hands in front of his face as he shook his head, Naruto quickly defended himself. "I'm not sick, Sakura! I swear, and you really shouldn't go around hitting sick people anyway!" Her reply was a raised eyebrow, ordering him to elaborate. "Yes, I've been eating ramen, but I've been too busy to actually make something else so you can't get mad at me this time."

The cotton-candy colored hair swayed back and forth as Sakura shook her head. Slowly, she lowered her fist back to her side as she eyed the obviously sleep-deprived blond. His story seemed valid if those bags under his eyes were any clue. "Fine, fine, but as soon as these meetings slack off, I want you eating like a normal human being instead of a waste dump," she said with that sweet smile that forced her eyes shut for a second. "But if you aren't sick, that means you're moping," the smile was replaced with the caring look once more, hoping he would explain while knowing not to pry.

"Slack off?!" Naruto laughed as he sat back. "I've been in meetings everyday for three months, Sakura. And I've only been Hokage for three months!" he said with a loud sigh, banging his forehead against the desk and causing a few papers to float down to the floor.

Smiling at the dramatic blond that she had been teammates with, she knelt down and picked up the papers that had fallen. "You obviously don't want to talk about whatever's bothering you, but if you change your mind, I'm working the day-shift at the hospital." With one final smile at Naruto, Sakura settled the papers into the proper tray and exited through the open door, leaving him to deal with his own thoughts.

As soon as pink hair was no longer visible, Naruto sat back up and glared at the ceiling. Things were going horribly wrong... The three days he'd given the economic advisers had ended the other day, and they still hadn't been able to agree. More arguing and more pointless talking for nearly four hours this time. But that wasn't the worse of it. His attention had been divided between their bickering and the impossibly annoyed ANBU behind him and venomous looking Kazekage beside him. The two were steadily getting worse... And he still didn't have a clue why!

They'd all had lunch nearly five days ago, and it had been rather nice. Gaara and Sasuke had sat quietly, eating slowly as they listened to Naruto talk on and on about this or that. When Naruto had demolished his thirteenth bowl and Sasuke and Gaara had finished their first and only, he'd paid with a happy grin, no longer thinking about how they had been acting around each other. There had been five or so minutes spent talking and standing just outside the ramen stand before Sasuke announced that he needed to go, not even giving a reason or farewell before poofing in a mass of gray smoke. Gaara had stayed a few more minutes, listening to Naruto complain about the stuffy people he was forced to work with, but then he had said that his own bodyguards were probably getting antsy. Knowing that said bodyguards were Temari and Kankurou, Naruto had laughed at the protective older brother and sister that had developed after the Chuunin Exams and said good-bye before Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand.

The next day, though...

Naruto glanced at the scarred wood on the wall opposite his desk. It was charred and scratched beyond repair. The entire wall was going to have to be replaced... He wasn't even sure how that had happened. Well, he knew that Gaara had scratched it with his sand, and Sasuke had burnt it with either one of his fire jutsu or the chidori.. But again there was that why.

He'd told Sasuke to stay in the office since he didn't need someone watching him as he pissed, but when he'd come back.. Gaara stood beside his desk, gaze trained out the window while Sasuke stood near the door as if nothing was amiss, and when Naruto had asked why the wall was damaged and a bookcase was overturned, he'd gotten silence as an answer.

After that day nothing had gone right. Sasuke wouldn't leave his side for anything which was seriously driving him insane. Since when did Sasuke want to be near anyone? And as for Gaara, he'd never seen so many emotions flicker across that normally impassive face. Not since he'd beat him that is... Gaara was starting to look more and more like his old murderous self, and that couldn't be a good thing.

"Why can't I have one normal and easy day?!" he yelled at no one since he was alone in his office. Of course, he probably shouldn't have yelled considering that a man in black and white appeared in front of him, dark slits in a mask staring at him.

Damn it.. He'd spent twenty minutes convincing Sasuke to stay on the roof of the building instead of hovering over his shoulder, and now the bastard was back. Why did he have to be such a loud person?

"Uhh.. Sorry about that, Sasuke," he said sheepishly, grinning at the unmoving person. "I was just venting out some frustration. You know with all of these meetings and everything... Uhh.." Nothing was wrong so why was Sasuke still standing there? "You aren't going back up on the roof; are you?" His question was answered as Sasuke moved to the corner between the window and Naruto's desk. No, Sasuke wasn't going back up on the roof. Instead of crying like he wanted to, Naruto placed his head back onto his desk with a loud thud and pretended that he didn't associate with crazy people.

_LATER_...

He had been wrong. That meeting five days ago wasn't hell. This was!

Casting a scathing glare to the red-head already thumbing through several sheets of papers, Naruto decided that being Hokage was more like being a secretary. "Do we really need to go through all of these?" he asked, holding up about twelve folders filled and fattened out with many, many different forms.

Glancing up from the scrawled words, Gaara gave Naruto a look that asked,"_Are you really that dense_?" Gaara, though, remained silent a moment before looking back down at what he'd been reading. When Naruto kept staring at him angrily, though, he closed his own eyes before speaking. "Do you wish to make the wrong decision and send your nation into poverty? These are plans made years ago between the villages when they tried to create a complex trade system that would benefit everyone. The end result was that Mist and several others lost near everything. Suna and Konoha were among the lucky few to stay on their feet. We may not be so lucky this time. That is why we need to see exactly what went wrong, other than the war, and try to make it to where even if the treaties crumble, the nations won't." At the end of his words, he opened his eyes and looked at Naruto.

Lowering the folders back down to the table, Naruto opened the first one on the stack. "No pressure, huh?" he asked with a small smile, though, the mirth never reached his eyes as he began scanning the page.

Not realizing that it was sarcasm, Gaara gave serious thought to what Naruto asked. "There's pressure in everything we do in our roles as village leaders. You'll get used to it, eventually, and it will define you over time." That was how it went for him so he figured that the feeling would be the same for Naruto. Unlike Naruto, though, Gaara had decided to become a kage so that he could have a true purpose for his life, to protect the village that had shunned and exiled him. Naruto had always wanted to be the Hokage because he'd wanted to be seen and noticed, though, it, too, had developed into a sense of having a purpose and protecting all those that he cared about. Two different reasons that morphed to be the same..

Naruto watched as Gaara's eyes fell back to reading, thinking over what the other had said. It would define him? Sure, he loved being Hokage, being able to protect and help, to have a true use in life, but... There was so much more to him than signing papers and making decisions. Hell, most things were handled by the Council, anyway. So what did Gaara mean by define him?

Deciding to think on it some other time, Naruto decided to be grateful for the tension-free atmosphere as he started back reading. For the past five days, he'd felt like he was the barrier between an all out battle between Sasuke and Gaara, but with today being Sasuke's day off, there was no chilll in the air since Gaara didn't have any problems with Shino. The bug-boy simply stood behind Naruto, no noise and not even any chakra activity as he did his job, ensuring that the Hokage wasn't killed by someone.. Or in Naruto's case, accidentally killed himself.

Sadly, though, Shino's body was a host to thousands of crawling insects, and thanks to the Kyuubi, Naruto could hear every tick of tiny feet moving over human skin. Back when they were younger, he'd never been able to hear it, or he'd never paid any attention. Considering how close he'd gotten to the demon fox over the past few years, though, he figured that he couldn't hear things like that back then. Now, though, if he didn't concentrate on not hearing it, he would hear it. It got annoying and tiring after awhile, but then again, it was better than having Sasuke and Gaara in the same room. Especially since he was expected to read and comprehend what he read. He'd only ever finished one multi-chaptered book, once, after all... To Kakashi's delight and Iruka's dismay.

"Are you actually reading or daydreaming?" Gaara asked when he looked up to see Naruto's eyes trained on the same word for over twenty seconds.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that, Gaara," Naruto said with a quick smile. "Just enjoying the quiet is all. Good on my nerves," he said more to himself than Gaara, but the red-head seemed to accept the answer as he looked back down again. But then...

"Were you thinking about the Uchiha?" Gaara's tone was the same as he asked the question, not even looking up at Naruto.

Even without Sasuke there, Naruto felt like he was about to have to prevent some sort of attack or something. "No, not really," he said carefully, not sure why Gaara had asked or what answer the other was seeking. In a way he had been thinking of Sasuke since he wasn't there, but mostly he'd been thinking about what he had to read.

Naruto waited for a reply, but there didn't seem to be one as Gaara flipped to the next page. Taking his cue, Naruto bowed his head and started reading as best as he could considering that his curiousity was starting to threaten his sanity. What was up with the two of them?! Were they secretly dating or something?!...

"_No, no, no, no, no, no, no_!" Naruto mentally yelled as his eyes froze once more. "_That can't be it. How would those two even get together? Even now that they seem angry at each other, they hardly say more than a single word to the other! That can't be it_!"

In the background of Naruto's mental rant came a low noise mixed with the beginnings of a snarl. The sound was rough and coarse, hoarse in a way that suggested years of loud laughter or thundering yells. Considering the beast causing it, there had probably been both..

"_**What's the matter, brat? Scared that they've found each other before you could choose**_?" The raspy voice was followed by a loud chuckle, causing a rattling sound in the deep depths of Naruto's mind.

Crinkling the papers in his grasp, Naruto scowled at nothing and everything as he cursed the damned fox for being such a horrid tenant. Couldn't he keep quiet when Naruto was obviously headed for a mental break-down?!

"_Shut up, Kyuubi! I'm not in the mood to deal with you, too_," Naruto thought, though, he did consider the fox's words.

"_**Too bad because I have nothing better to do, and your problems always amuse me**_," came the reply, another chuckle as Naruto crushed the papers further. "**_Calm down. If those two were together, I don't think they'd be trying to murder each other. Well, unless they're having some sort of disagreement on who should top. Personally, I see the seme being-_**" The papers in Naruto's hands were crushed and crumbled beyond recognition by this point, causing another loud snicker from the fox."**_ Oh.. And you might want to regain your composure. Your making the bug-brat and raccoon-brat nervous_**."

Naruto was starting to grit his teeth when his head jerked up, blue eyes meeting never-ending aqua. Gaara's face was still as closed off as ever, but Naruto could see the hint of concern and worry hiding inside of the other's eyes. And behind him Shino had grown a bit tense, apparently trying to figure out what had Naruto so worked up.. It probably wouldn't be good to say that it was all the damned fox's fault. If people had feared him for being a container, they probably wouldn't like him talking to the demon inside of his head.. Damn, he was going insane; wasn't he?

"Uh.. Sorry!" Naruto said before anyone could say anything, smoothing out the papers as best as he could. "I guess I got distracted again!"

He could feel Shino relax a bit, but he had no such luck with Gaara. Those cryptic eyes stayed glued to him for what seemed like forever before the young Kazekage finally decided to say something.

"Maybe you should go home and get some sleep. You're obviously tired, and you aren't doing anyone any good with the way you currently are," Gaara said in an emotionless tone, void of caring or worry. He was simply stating a fact.

While Gaara might have viewed it as just a fact, Naruto took the words to heart.

His smile fell first as he tuned out Kyuubi's ridiculous laughter. "Gaara, I'm the Hokage, and I need to look through these files. I don't need to take your word for it so I think that I'll just stay." The warmth was lost from his voice as he narrowed his eyes at Gaara. The only reason he was tired was because Gaara had gotten Sasuke worked up to the point where Naruto didn't get any peace, and when he did get peace, he wondered what was wrong between the two of them. Gaara didn't have the right to chastise his work ethic, not now.

When the red-head didn't respond, Naruto looked down at the wrinkled paper and finally started reading. He neither noticed nor cared about the pensive look that had crossed Gaara's confused face. All he thought about was fixing whatever it was that was making everything seem so difficult.

And he would fix it.

_LATER_...

He was getting stir-crazy, and it hadn't even been a complete day yet. Despite having the day off, Sasuke had pulled himself out of bed before even the sun had softened the shadows of the world. Outside his bedroom window was nothing but shades of ebony and gray. No white, no green, no color greeted him in the morning, but that wasn't new. The thing that was new was the feeling clawing and biting at his insides, begging and demanding to be released. He didn't even know what it was, though, so he'd ignored it for the two hours before the sun rose.

As the blindingly annoying star cast his kitchen and himself in a yellow glow, he thought of something else that could be both blinding and annoying and even yellow. That creature was tanned from years of training in the heated sun of Konoha, loud yells that declared something or nothing, but no matter what was said, it had always been cherished in its own way. But with that thought, though, came one of something darker and bathed in a bloodied color, curled up in a cocoon of sand as eyelashes lay fluttering against a smooth cheek, almost as pale as his own complexion. But that wasn't a thought. A memory...

Those thoughts had plagued his mind for many hours, recalling past memories before and after the death of Itachi. He remembered every mission where he'd had to save Naruto's life, which was nearly all of them. He also remembered the Chuunin Exams where he'd followed Gaara through the dense forest only to find that he wasn't strong enough. Naruto had been strong enough, though. And after he'd deflected from Konoha, he could still hear Naruto's voice telling him that he would be brought back, even if that meant breaking every bone in his body, and it had nearly come to that in the end. Of course, he also recalled at least two times where he'd crossed paths with Gaara after leaving Konoha. The sand-wielding shinobi hadn't had a reason to seek him out other than to see Naruto smile again. For many years, Gaara did only what he thought would make Naruto as joyful as he once was... They'd both failed there.

The smiles were still as fake as they were genuine, even if Naruto had managed to fool himself into thinking he was happy. Now, though, Naruto didn't try as hard as he once did. Sure, he had managed major and gratifying changes in the village since becoming the leader, but everone knew that the blond was struggling to find a new dream to cling to and chase. His life was balanced out now, and Naruto wasn't a balanced person so it was natural that he may feel lost...

"Oi! Bastard, you home!" The loud voice was followed by a series of hard knocks against the old door, causing it to creak and groan in protest.

"Dobe, stop beating on my door!" he growled out automatically, glaring daggers at the door as if he could see the person on the other side. Was he so lost in thought that he hadn't sensed _Naruto_? "It's not locked, and the wards and seals are already off." That was the closest to an invitation that Sasuke could manage.

The door was shoved open without any warning, crashing into the wall behind it as Sasuke scowled from the kitchen counter where he was leaning his lower back against. "What do you think you're doing? Hokage or not, I will still kick the living shit out of you for being a moron," he growled as Naruto looked around the room, finally focusing on the brunette. Sasuke could see the faint tinting of maroon in Naruto's eyes, which caused his own to bleed into a ruby color, the black design spinning warningly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why you have to follow /my/ orders, huh?" Naruto asked, rolling his eyes. "Look, I'm not here for a social visit. I'm tired of you acting like an over-protective crazy person, and Gaara acting weird... Well, weirder than usual," he said quickly as he crossed the distance between them.

Naturally, Sasuke didn't back down or move as Naruto came closer. He simply folded his arms against his chest and forced the Sharingan out of his eyes before he became too tempted to use it on the idiot. "That all sounds like a personal problem to me," he sneered, not willing to talk about it and knowing that the worse Naruto could do was badger him about it.

"Yes, it is a personal problem since you're one of my most trusted guards, and I work closely to Gaara," Naruto said with a sneer of his own, reaching forward to grasp onto Sasuke's forearm. "I don't want nor need to know what is wrong with the two of you, but you will both work it out," he added as he used a transportation jutsu, not even giving Sasuke enough time to pull away or dispel his jutsu.

They had been a pain in his ass for five days, and he was tired of playing the peace keeper. They would find common ground.. He hoped.

* * *

Whether you like it or hate it, let me know what you think. Also, I will start updating more often when the holidays are over. I barely have time to breathe, let alone write regularly right now.


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